I would think there is an injury given you have current guys on the roster (i.e., Marshall) that are playing some in the games this summer.
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I would think there is an injury given you have current guys on the roster (i.e., Marshall) that are playing some in the games this summer.
I disagree. I don’t know what was shown on TV, but live, Dieng was super impressive and way ahead of where I thought he was. He is so smooth and covers so much ground so easily. Handle looked amazing. Now, he did have the NAW syndrome where he could get wherever he wants and looks so great with the ball but misses the shot. Still, I was crazy impressed. Like he is way ahead of Poku already and a lot of the other 22, 23 year old prospects I saw last night
@mcnamara247
The handle was nice. Weird fit with what they have, though. That may be the worst shooting team in basketball this season. If the shooting isn't there for Dieng, he's not going to succeed because he has no explosion. That was evident last night against a horrible Jazz summer league team. I'm still a fan of the jumper though
Yeah, all the guys won’t make it. At least not on OKC. Impossible for that money young guys to develop at one. I would bet on Chet and wing Williams though for sure.
I tried to ignore the fact that Taco was on the court...NOT easy to do. IF Chet can shoot the 3 as well as I think he can, he will be a REALLY tough cover, for just about any legit 5. I'm not sure you can (or SHOULD) EVEN leave your "average" 5 on the court vs Chet. Would just be too easy for him to get open looks. Obviously, has work to do on other aspects of his offense. Gonna be really interesting to see IF Chet can learn to take advantage inside...of any "small ball 5". I foresee a whole bunch of SB5s...in Chet's future.
Blocks out...sets screens...seems willing and able to play pretty solid D away from the hoop. Interior defense...? Forgittaboutit...and if he gains some weight...gonna be one of the greatest defenders of all-time. Will need a bit of "protection" from overly aggressive, less-talented 5s in the beginning...but that's just gonna be part of their job, for those 3 guys out there with whistles. It's the NBA...they can always find a way to maximize any rising "superstar."
I had Chet #1 on my board and looking good now. Will be the best player from this draft 5 years from now.
On the one hand, yes you have to be very careful about declaring people superstars or busts in Summer League. In fact, you should never do it.
On the other hand, he didn't say Chet is a superstar today, he said he's going to be the best player in the draft in 5 years time, which is a very different statement - and a much more reasonable one.
Some things don't translate from Summer League (FG% is a huge one) but some things actually do, and Chet is doing well in most of the common factors.
Basketball.
OKC isn't concerned about anyone reaching their max anything right now, and they're not concerned with winning either, which is what a Gobert move would indicate. I honestly think they're one of the worst developmental environments in the NBA. Just legions of young, unproven guys. Half of them lauded prospects, half of them grab-bag UDFAs or second rounders trying to work out how to play basketball, in a completely defunct team context with zero defined roles and very few real veterans or culture setters. The dead end of basketball.
The oldest member of their rotation last year was Kenrich Williams: he was the only player on the Thunder who got more than 1000 minutes who is older than 23. He's 27.
I'm sure at some point within the next few years they'll have solidified who they actually care about - of course, by that time they'll all be due max rookie extensions lmao - and will move back into actual basketball but that's not in their immediate future.
I suppose. It's just that the salivating over Chet's future after one Summer League game (against a team with almost no NBA talent on it) is a little much. Arguably Murray has had a better Summer League but I haven't heard anyone annointing him as the next great player.
I think what we saw in his first two Summer League games showed off both his promise and the concerns a lot of people had about him. He's got a very good skill set for a guy his height. But he's not terribly athletic and there still remains a big concern about his ability to handle NBA's physical play. So far nothing I've seen has changed my mind about his pros and cons.
Maybe he looked that good in the first game because Tacko Fall is that bad. Or maybe he came down to earth in the second game because Lofton is better than his position in the draft. Or the truth may be somewhere in between.
I like him as a prospect. I'm concerned about his ability to put on muscle and weight in the NBA. Ultimately I still think the jury's out on him. And I don't see any reason to take one game as evidence that he's the best player in the draft especially since we haven't seen Jabari or Paolo yet.
I don't think anybody is "salivating" over him after one summer league game. He has a body of work up till now that's more than the last 2 days.
And much of what we like has to do with his overall game and potential. Not the short comings while he weighs 105 lbs at 20 years old.
I still don’t think people quite understand the impact Jabari is about to have. He’s Klay if Klay was 6’10. He’s being undervalued at the present time, but he’ll be the most valuable on court presence in this draft in the long run. The difference between he and Paolo or Chet, however, is that he’s more dependent upon others. The Pels would not have even had a conversation about another prospect at 1, and that I can guarantee
Murray looked very good. Lots of people have been praising him, so I suppose it depends on where you look. But then, Murray should look good because if you are an NBA calibre talent playing Summer League at the age of damn near 22, you should look great. He's barely a month younger than Zion is, and Zion's about to go into his 4th year in the NBA. If you're an old-as-hell rookie and you don't show everyone up in Summer League, you shouldn't be in the NBA.
That said; as luckyman said, nobody is ''salivating'' over Chet because of one Summer League game, people are excited for him based on what he's been doing since he was in high school - everyone who has paid any attention to the draft and to upcoming prospects has had high hopes for Chet for years now because he looks good in every context. He looked good in high school, in FIBA U17, and in college, and now in Summer League. It's a cumulative excitement, it has nothing to do with what he's done in one game. And the same people praising Chet, for the most part, were also praising Paolo and to a lesser extent Jabari, so its not like they're praising Chet at the expense of the others. Perhaps the reason he's getting the praise not Paolo is because - as you mentioned - Paolo hasn't even played yet. That may play a factor.
Why would he look worse against Lofton than other people? Well, Lofton is the same height and weight as Zion Williamson so maybe it has something to do with a bad matchup? Potentially? Rather than being because Chet is overrated. Just something to think about, even if you don't end up agreeing with it - everyone has bad physical matchups that make them look worse than other, advantageous matchups. Hell, Kevin Durant gets harassed to high heaven by Jrue Holiday because it's just not a good matchup for him, even though he's a much better player than Jrue is.
Lofton showed out. He will likely get two way deal if he doesn't already have one. Wouldn't mind having him in New Orleans. (he can always play for the Saints lol!)
Shaedon Sharpe injured his shoulder 5 minutes into his first Summer League game and did not return. Not an auspicious start to his NBA career.
And earlier tonight Paolo Banchero looked every bit like the overall #1 pick in the draft, and not just in his ability to shoot/score. His passing/playmaking looked advanced in his first SL game. Admittedly it was just one SL game, but the Magic appear to have chosen wisely.
Meanwhile, Jabari Smith Jr looked kind of mid. Not too worried about it in some ways (who cares that he was inefficient, FG% in summer league is meaningless) but some of his other negative traits that kept him out of that top two for me continued to show up. Namely, neglecting his size completely and settling for jumpers as a priority in situations where they're probably not the best shot, and the act that he was largely reliant on other people to get him his best shots.
Speaking of which, Houston really needs someone who is a selfless distributor. They have a lot of ''me first'' guys on their roster going into next year.
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